Playing For A Cause

Mackenzie Connor, Staff Writer

Being involved in such a tightly-connected community like Barnstable, residents know each other fairly well, and when something unfortunate transpires we tend to come together to support and help each other. This mutual cooperation is often seen in sports teams.

Every October, the field hockey team breaks out their pink shirts, ribbons, and socks and decorates the field in different shades of pink to support those battling breast cancer. Ashley Bishop, second-year varsity field hockey coach here at Barnstable said, “It is important to give back to the community and the pink game makes for a better, more supportive environment.”

“It’s one of our favorite traditions and it’s nice to see all of the girls coming together for something more than just a game,” Bishop said. “Every time we participate  in the pink game our team tends to play very well; I think it’s because of the different motivation behind it,” she added. This has been a tradition for this team over the past seven years, and Bishop intends to continue it.

For the first time, the game was played in recognition of a particular person. House E administrative assistant, Leslie Hall, recently battled breast cancer and her daughter, Cara McDonald is a 2005 alumni on the BHS field hockey team, so it was fitting to honor Hall. The proceeds of this game were donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “The whole reasoning behind the pink game is to raise awareness and funds for those fighting, and the MIAA encourages it,” Bishop said.

The BHS girls hockey team also participates in an annual pink game. Caroline Fries, an honorable member of the team passed away in 2009 from Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Ever since then, the girls wear their pink jerseys, ribbons and other pink items in her memory. “When I was younger I remember everybody looking up to her as a player as well as a person, and for her we participate in ‘Pink in the Rink,’” said junior Emma Needham, girls ice hockey player. “It is a nice way to honor her and her contributions to the team and our community,” Needham added.

This year, for the first time, the girl’s volleyball team participated in, not a pink game, but a yellow game in honor of 2014 BHS graduate and volleyball player, Olivia Brodt. Brodt was recently diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma and the recognition color for this particular cancer is yellow.

    Over the winter Coach Tom Turco, head of the girls volleyball team, runs a volleyball club called “Cape Cod Juniors” that is held at Barnstable High School. Most of the girls on the Barnstable team play for Cape Cod Juniors, and this year the jersey color for the club team was yellow. The yellow jerseys combined with Brodt’s cancer color sparked the idea for a yellow game.

    On October 25, the girls played Medfield at a home game for “dig yellow” in honor of Brodt. The gym was bright with yellow streamers, balloons, posters, banners, and yellow jerseys. Even the stands were full with shades of yellow.

    The game was a success, and just like the field and ice hockey pink games, it was an example of how well our BHS sports community comes together to support each other when we need it most.